News & Public Affairs

While the economy was a major factor driving voters to the polls yesterday, a pair of local races may have been decided along simpler lines. The Pinellas County Commission picked up two new Democrats who challenged their Republican opponentsâ stance on fluoride in drinking water.

Not long after the polls closed Tuesday, Pinellas Commissioners Neil Brickfield and Nancy Bostock, both Republican incumbents, threw in the towel. The latter was down by five points; the former by nearly eleven....

Elected officials from across the region are learning how to improve transit. The group Transportation for America is hosting a summit today at the Val Pak headquarters in St. Petersburg that features experts on the topic as well as planners from cities with model transit systems. St. Pete City Councilâs Jeff Danner said funding infrastructure is a major hurdle for the area.

âThe thing with transportation is, regardless of what mode it is itâs very expensive and fundingâs always...

Pinellas County is slowly moving forward with plans to ask voters to pay for a major transit overhaul. A study released this year lays the groundwork for both light rail and increased bus service to support it. At a transit meeting yesterday, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority CEO Brad Miller said the ideas need to be discussed with possible riders.

âTo help us digest all of these plans that are going on whether theyâre long term or ...

Hillsborough County officials broke ground today on what will soon be the countyâs version of bus rapid transit. MetroRapid will run along Nebraska Avenue from the USF area to downtown Tampa quicker than other bus lines. Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman hopes the route will be a boost for ridership when it is completed next year.

âWe are taking a very big step with bus rapid transit to really get it moving forward and really send the message that riding the bus is a rea...

Environmentalists and progressive activists are joining forces to let transit officials in Pinellas County know they want expanded mass transit. About 80 of them packed a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) board meeting in Pinellas County Monday to make sure their presence was felt as heavily as rail opponents whose slogan is "no tax for tracks." Organizer of the event, Tim Martin represents the group Awake Pinellas. As multi-modal transportation supporters showed up, Martin made s...

Officials from across the Tampa Bay area are pushing a long-term plan that links transit to population density. Results from a study discussed this morning at a meeting in Pinellas Park shows some challenges for officials in Pinellas County who want to expand transit options. Tampa Bay Regional Planning Councilâs Avera Wynne said to make that and the spending that comes with it a reality regions need to increase their population density.

During a meeting at the Tampa Bay Times Forum today, State legislators representing the region were given a list of issues members of the Tampa Bay Partnership thought should be made priorities. With Pinellas County considering a sales tax referendum for transit improvements, one group of business professionals told the 26 elected officials to ignore the âNo Tax for Tracksâ campaigns. Barry Alpert, managing investment director for Raymond James, said 40 years ago he could tell potential p...

Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, or PSTA, has drawn plans to build 24 miles of light rail in Pinellas County with a connection to Tampa. At the Unitarian Universalist church in Clearwater last night, a spokesperson for Pinellasâs transit authority told Sierra Club members that the plan could significantly reduce congestion on roadways. The rail plan is called the [locally preferred alternative](http://www.psta.net/PDF/PSTA-HA...

In October, a Middleton High School Student was hit and killed by a car while crossing Hillsborough Avenue on her way to school. The Florida Department of Transportation estimates that there are 375 people killed in car accidents annually in the Tampa area. But a transportation bill in the U.S. House would fund fewer projects that would make it safer to walk or ride a bike.